Movin' on?
by NejiKikyoAnimeRose
Summary: After an unwanted breakup with Naruto, Neji quietly attempts to ignore everything he once knew about love. Unfortunately for him, something unavoidable gets in the way; Inuzuka Kiba. KibaNeji, past NaruNeji, some NaruSasu.
1. The End

Neji didn't want to keep doing this. He absolutely hated doing this.

Naruto was back again, laughing and joking and just generally being himself, playing with the boys and reliving little anecdotes to get a smile out of them. Normally, this wasn't such a huge deal with Neji as it had been quite a large part of his life when he and Naruto were a _thing_.

But now, it seemed like it was a huge deal. Because he and Naruto were no longer a _thing_, and were instead, living in separate homes with separate jobs and, it seemed, separate friends. There was an interesting story that came with that. Not Neji's favorite, he had heard better, but an unfortunate fact of reality.

Naruto was the kind of guy who just attracted all sorts of people to him, people with every kind of personality imaginable; stingy, clever, funny, smart, quiet, timid, disconnected, disinterested, obnoxious. It all migrated towards Naruto. Neji was fine with that and always had been because Naruto responded to every single one of those personalities in the same way, and responded to _him_ (Neji) in a special way. And, until a few short months ago, had only responded to Neji in that special way.

However, on that fateful day five months ago, all that had changed. And Neji hated change. Hated it with a burning passion. Change always meant bad. His father dying was bad, his self-imposed isolation from his family was bad, all of it was bad. Just about the only good change that had occurred in his life was Naruto, and that was why he had given so much of himself to Naruto, because he trusted that idiot to keep the bad change _away_ from him.

So much for that.

Naruto had been out at the local bar doing god knows what when he apparently ran into an old friend of his; Uchiha Sasuke. Neji had never really given the guy much thought and didn't even when he found him standing with Naruto in front of their apartment door talking with him as though it were an everyday occurrence.

At the time Neji had thought nothing of it and had gone about his business, assuming merely that Naruto had wanted to catch up with a good friend of his and just generally himself not caring. It wasn't as though he knew Sasuke.

Sasuke began to come over more and more, and the two twin boys Naruto had insisted on adopting had taken such a shine to him; it didn't matter that he was probably one of the most antisocial people Neji had ever come into contact with, they just loved him. To make things worse, this was all going on during the busiest season for the Hyuuga Corporation and Neji was vital if the business was to be conducted smoothly. Thus, he was rarely home and when he was, it was late. For six months, it was like that, and on the day he was finally finished with all of it – the last report had finally been filed – he came home to an unusual sight.

Naruto was sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. Neji, being worried for his idiot, had asked him what was wrong and if there was anything he could do to help. Naruto had shaken his head and flinched away from Neji's helping hand. Neji would try unsuccessfully to deny to himself how much that simple action had hurt. Neji asked Naruto several times what was on his mind but Naruto remained stubbornly quiet. In the end, all Neji could do was give him a kiss and wish him pleasant dreams.

When he woke up the next morning the bed was cold and Naruto was gone.

After that, Naruto began to act a little unusually. He began to take Neji out more and he complained less when Neji would ask him to do something. He even offered to help Neji with chores that he'd never known needed to be done before. If Neji didn't know better, he would have guessed that Naruto was acting out of a guilty conscience.

Six months later, Naruto had taken Neji into their room, shut the door and told him that he was leaving him; told him that he wanted to end their relationship, he was in love with Sasuke. Neji distinctly remembered standing there in that first frozen moment of utter surprise before his defenses erected themselves immediately. He listened silently as Naruto apologized to him again and again and offered him full custody of the children, offered him the entire apartment and everything they had. He explained to Neji over and over again that it wasn't anything Neji had done, that Naruto just didn't want to be with him anymore. Neji accurately guessed the embarrassment that came with falling in love with someone when you were otherwise spoken for. Neji knew that Naruto hated to lie. Sasuke probably would have been fine with keeping their relationship covert, but Naruto was the kind of person who couldn't do that without feeling guilty. He had to be up front with those he cared about.

And, as convenient as it would be if it were otherwise, Naruto still cared about Neji. And Neji knew it.

So they had ended their relationship civilly; Neji got to keep the apartment and the car and the boys and Naruto got Sasuke. He viewed it as a trade that was more than fair. Neji withheld all comments on the situation.

Neji couldn't just cut Naruto out of his life, though. He still loved Naruto, as much as it hurt, and he knew that the boys needed Naruto and that Naruto needed the boys, at least in some form. So he let Naruto come over to visit them whenever he wanted. He'd gotten a huge and rather crushing hug for that.

That led to the current arrangement; that is, Naruto coming over to the apartment every weekend and usually every Tuesday and Thursday. On the weekdays, he would sometimes eat dinner at the apartment and on the weekends he would sometimes stay through the night into Sunday. The boys seemed happy with that and Neji managed to bear the arrangement admirably.

But it was taking its toll on him. Not having been given a proper amount of time to distance himself from his breakup with Naruto, this arrangement was naturally not the best thing for Neji, but he would put up with it if only because it made Naruto and the boys so happy.

Which led him to this day at this moment. Naruto had been coming over more and more often. The first few times he'd brought Sasuke with him but that had stopped very quickly because he knew it made Neji uncomfortable. Now he just came by himself to spend some time with his kids. To Neji, though, that was hardly an improvement.

"Wait, wait, wait, lemme get this straight," Naruto was crowing from his spot on the couch, one twin on either side of him, "She rejected you two? Just like that?" The older twin, Soichiro, nodded and looked to his brother, Keitaro, for confirmation.

"She didn't like the idea of dating both of us simultaneously," he explained in a mock long-suffering voice.

"She must have known by now that we come as a pair," Keitaro cut in with the hint of a wry smile on his face. Neji chuckled to himself from his place at the table, trusting Naruto's guffaws to keep his laughter hidden.

"Wow, what a rigid chick!" Naruto said through his laughter. "Ah, you guys'll find someone special soon, don't worry. Plenty of gorgeous girls out there." He ruffled the twins' messy jet black hair and they rewarded him with two very rare, very genuine smiles. Neji watched silently from the table, momentarily breaking his concentration.

"So, what else is new, kiddos?" Naruto asked, pulling the twins closer to him. They snuggled up against him willingly and answered his question with what they thought was well-concealed eagerness.

"Keitaro made the basketball team," Soichiro explained.

"Soichiro made the chess team," Keitaro interjected.

"Keitaro's failing math class."

"Soichiro's failing _P.E._"

"Even though he's taking a very simple algebra."

"Even though all he has to do to pass is show up."

"Neji says we're moving." The boys said this in unison and turned their eyes to their adoptive father, staring at him with an unreadable gaze. Neji stopped writing mid sentence and closed his eyes. He'd been hoping to avoid this. Naruto turned to Neji as well, confusion written all over his face.

"Neji?" Naruto inquired, still a little mentally winded from the onslaught of information. "What are they talking about?" Neji closed his eyes and massaged his forehead, habitually biting the bottom of his lip to fight off the headache. Naruto, sensing some serious trouble that had been brewing for perhaps a bit too long, gently extracted himself from the twins' hold and rounded the couch to the table. He pulled a chair beside Neji and straddled it almost carelessly, using the chair back as an arm rest. He looked at Neji seriously.

"Neji?" he tried again. Neji sighed and put his pen down, understanding that this needed his full attention. He looked at the twins, who were obviously not going to be moving anywhere soon, and leaned back in his chair.

"We are moving," he said firmly, folding his arms. "I really don't think that two growing boys should be raised by a single parent in an apartment as small as this." The twins scoffed in the background.

"Dad raises us just as much as Neji does," Soichiro said to Keitaro, who nodded solemnly.

"He always helps me with my homework and you with your social blunders," Keitaro added. Neji closed his eyes and bit back a second sigh, absolutely hating the twins' unusual and obnoxious method of getting their point across to him. Naruto gave an admonishing look to the boys.

"Hey, chill out, okay?" he scolded. "Neji's right, you guys do deserve better than this. You should be thankful that he's willing to do this for you." The twins quieted and shared a look before turning away from the table. Neji nodded his thanks to Naruto, ignoring the small rush of broken pride that threatened well up in his stomach at the thought of Naruto defending him like that.

"Sooooo…" Naruto started, clearly waiting for further explanation from Neji. The young Hyuuga rolled his eyes and cradled his head in his hand.

"It's a house about five minutes from here with two floors and a basement," he extrapolated. "They'd still be going to the same school, they can still see all of their friends as easily as if they were living here, and you can still visit them whenever you want." Naruto blinked and shrugged, his fears alleviated.

"So, what's the problem?" he asked. "I'd think they'd be excited about that! What's with the assish-ness?" It took virtually everything Neji had not to laugh at Naruto's made up word and he shook his head to push the laughter away.

"I don't know, they won't talk to me about it," he confessed. He broke off to wipe a drop of nervous sweat from his forehead and Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Neji stood quickly to his feet and muttered a "dinner's finished" before he rushed off to the small kitchen space to pull the pans from the burners.

They all sat down to dinner and Naruto took it upon himself to be the life of the party once more. His hope was to distract the twins from Neji's apparently cruel decision, and it seemed to be working fairly well. Soichiro and Keitaro were laughing and joking crudely with Naruto while Neji watched with a small smile in the background. He rarely contributed to the conversation and was about to excuse himself when Naruto spoke up, his voice suddenly nervous.

"Um, I can't come over to see you guys on Thursday, okay?" he started, fidgeting with something in his lap. Neji watched with a furrowed brow, his curiosity piqued.

"There's, um, there's something that I was, um…" he broke off and looked at Neji as though for support. But Neji knew as much about his unusual behavior as the twins, and couldn't offer anything except an encouraging look. Naruto smiled gratefully and forged onward bravely.

"I wanted you guys to be the first to know," he said, putting the item in his lap on the table. Neji's heart began to speed up as he saw a very notoriously shaped black velvet box sitting before them all. An impending sense of dread formed in his stomach as Naruto opened the box to reveal a beautiful silver band with an inscription that he couldn't read from where sat.

"I'm – I'm going to do the gay equivalent of proposing to Sasuke," Naruto said with a laugh and a goofy grin. Even though he was nervous at the moment, Neji knew Naruto's determination would not falter when it counted. He was serious about this.

The twins were silent and their gaze shifted to Neji, their mouths parting simultaneously. Neji's eyes were on Naruto, who was looking around at all of them with a fiery expression, as though challenging any of them to question his intended actions. None of them did.

Finally, after pushing every single one of his emotions into the farthest recesses of his mind, Neji mustered a smile and reached out to take the ring.

"May I?" he asked in an embarrassingly soft voice. Naruto nodded, still so hopeful and impassioned. Neji held the box carefully in his lightly shaking hands and looked over the beautiful silver ring. It was simple and perfect and the proof of a loving attempt at representing all that Naruto and Sasuke had together. The inscription read a very simple _Always Yours_ on the inside and Neji forced himself not to swallow.

The best part about this band, as far as Sasuke would be concerned, was that it couldn't represent even a small segment of Naruto's feelings; they were too great, too vast, and too encompassing to be manifested in anything tangible.

"He'll love it, Naruto," Neji said, handing the ring back to him. Naruto's face exploded into the biggest beaming grin Neji had ever seen. Their hands brushed as Naruto took the ring and Neji tried not to pull his hand back as though it were burned. He tried to keep his smile in place and he tried to push down his rebelling emotions as Naruto's joy seemed to tear him in half.

The twins soon found their voice as well and said together, "Yeah, Dad. He'll love it." Somehow, they didn't seem all too enthusiastic.

They all watched a movie together before Naruto left and on his way out the door, Neji stopped him, suddenly remembering something very important. The twins were playing video games in their room.

"Naruto, I need you to take the twins tomorrow," Neji said. Naruto looked at him quizzically.

"Why?" he asked. "Is something wrong?" There was already worry in his voice but Neji refused to acknowledge it.

"Because I need to pack," he responded easily. "They don't need to be reminded that we're moving, and I'd rather not – have to deal with their… disdain. Could you pick them up after school?" Naruto cast a glance at the twins' closed door and gave Neji a sympathetic smile.

"Neji, come on, they're smart kids," he said. "They're probably gonna know why you're sending them to see me, anyway. Why don't I just help you pack while they're at school or something? That'd be better." Neji shook his head and went over to the table, wishing he had some more dishes to put away.

"No, you need as much time as you can get with Sasuke," he said stubbornly. "I know the boys have been commandeering a lot of your time from him and this way, at least you'll be able to see both the boys and Sasuke, instead of choosing to see one and then the other.

"And I can take them from you on Thursday so that you can have that night with Sasuke; I'll probably be finished by then, anyway." Naruto was watching Neji move about the very clean apartment space, a little baffled as Neji foisted their twins off on him; not that he would call it foisting, he loved spending time with the boys, and he knew that Sasuke did too, no matter what the asshole said.

"But—" he started.

"You'll not persuade me let this go, Naruto," Neji said coldly. "The twins love spending time with both you and Sasuke and they have plenty of things to do to occupy themselves when you two want to be alone. It's a perfect arrangement." He stopped and added as an afterthought, "Although, I am sorry for taking away a Wednesday evening you could've spent with Sasuke… If they get to be too much, you can call me and I'll come and get them." Naruto tried to speak again but was cut off by a very familiar ring tone. He winced. He knew what that song meant; he had stayed too late and Sasuke was wondering why the hell he wasn't home yet.

Neji looked pointedly at him, then his phone, then back at him. Naruto's happy mood was inexplicably diminished as he bid Neji goodbye and left the apartment that evening, Sasuke's voice in his ear.

* * *

**Alright, this is my first KibaNeji fic (I'm so happy) and it was inspired by this one article I read on Yahoo while checking my email. It was basically about these two people, a man and a woman, who left their families to be together. The man's account of things was particularly interesting to me because he said he felt guilty the whole time, even though he never actually had a physical affair with the woman he had come to love. After a few months of going back and forth like that, he finally left his wife and children and expressed that he was not proud of the manner in which he left (keep in mind this is the abridged version, there's more to the article that I just can't remember). I felt that there was a story there and so this was born! My music inspiration for this chapter was the song "Send in the Clowns", which I love.  
**

**I do not own Naruto and shall return the characters once I have finished with them. **

**I hope someone likes this enough to look out for the next chapters and thank you in advance to all who read/review/whatever this story. Greatly appreciated. :) Oh yeah, and the KibaNeji comes later. Think of this as a rom-com on the more serious side of things.  
**


	2. He Doesn't Understand

The twins knew they came off as rude when they said goodbye to their father. Naruto was watching them silently and there was no smile on his face. They knew that spelled trouble, but they couldn't find it in themselves to care. So, they looked once at each other, then at their father, and said, "See you later, Neji" before they took the other's hand and headed to Naruto's big brown hand-me-down truck. They didn't look back once.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto demanded of them once they were in the truck and on the road. The twins merely looked out the windows.

"What do you mean?" they asked. Naruto's hands clenched on the steering wheel.

"What the hell do _you _mean, what do I mean?" he shot back through gritted teeth. "You know exactly what I mean! What was that attitude for? Neji didn't do anything to deserve that." Keitaro sighed and deftly flicked a strand of messy black hair from his eyes.

"There was no attitude," he said. "That's just how we are." The car suddenly turned abruptly and jerked to a stop. Naruto was turning to glare at them fully over the seat.

"If that's how you are all the time, then we've got even more of a problem," he growled at them. "I didn't fucking raise you for three years to be assholes to the one man who stood next to me every single day I did." Soichiro and Keitaro suddenly turned to face him simultaneously, glaring as hard as their dad.

"You mean the man you left willingly for someone else?" they challenged. Naruto felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He suddenly felt all the anger slip from his body as he deflated into a frozen mass with no confidence. He found he couldn't look away from his two sons as they waited for his reply.

"I… I didn't mean to – do that," he said lamely. "I never meant it to…"

"Hurt him," they finished. "But you did." Naruto swallowed hard and tried to blink back the guilt that had never really left him alone.

"Wait a minute," he said as something flashed through his mind. "Then why aren't you being dickwads to me? Why are you acting this way to Neji? I hurt him, how is that _his _fault?" The twins turned oddly quiet and looked distinctly more nervous than when they began the trip to Naruto's apartment. Their hands held tighter together and they shared an uneasy glance. They should have known that Naruto wouldn't let it go. He had a one track mind like that. Especially when it came to people he cared about.

Keitaro looked at his brother and cleared his throat inaudibly.

"We don't want to move," he said seriously, but quietly. "Neji doesn't understand that." Naruto turned around and bit his lip hard, jerking the steering wheel around and roughly directing the truck back onto the road. His eyes began to sting and he recognized the presence of persistent tears behind them.

His kids didn't feel like their father understood them. They didn't feel as though Neji truly _got _what it felt like to be Soichiro and Keitaro. Where there used to be a strong connection between the three of them, there was now a severed cord that served no purpose but as a sick reminder of what had deteriorated because of Naruto's stupid mistake.

But it wasn't a mistake. Not to Naruto. He _loved _Sasuke, he truly _loved _him. He would _never _leave Neji for a stupid fling that didn't mean anything. If he'd had an affair with Sasuke, he would have up and told Neji immediately. He would have begged for forgiveness if he'd had to, just to preserve their relationship. But that's not what happened; Naruto had actually fallen in love with Sasuke and out of love with Neji.

But everyone was still suffering for it. Neji, himself, and now his sons too. Because they thought that Neji had forgotten about them.

And even though Naruto's very body burned to defend Neji, he just couldn't find it in himself to. Because he didn't know if Neji really _did _understand the boys. He didn't know what their life had become after the break-up. And he couldn't very well ask; he'd lost that right when he left Neji; he'd relinquished it willingly.

So, now, everyone seemed all for the worse, while he was selfishly reveling in his love for Sasuke. Perfect.

Naruto sighed and pressed his foot down hard on the accelerator. 50, 55, 60, 70 miles per hour. The twins watched him warily from the backseat, afraid to move.

As soon as the car pulled into the parking lot, the twins were ready with their shared bag of clothes. When Naruto parked the car and put on the emergency break, they were speeding out of the side door and into the apartment. They waited awkwardly for Naruto to let them in and didn't stay to greet Sasuke, or watch as Sasuke greeted Naruto.

It was really kind of bad that Naruto was attracted to smart men. Sasuke noticed immediately that something was wrong and looked at Naruto with an aloof yet expectant expression.

"What did you do?" Naruto only glared at him and let himself collapse onto their worn sofa. His head fell into his hands and his body slumped forward. There was only one word in Sasuke's mind as he watched the idiot in front of him: pathetic. Naruto honestly looked pathetic. Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets and just waited.

"Is it normal to feel like shit this long after you end a relationship?" the blonde mumbled into his hands. Sasuke didn't respond.

"I mean, I know it's not a very long time when you compare it to how long the relationship was," he continued. "Six months to five years. It's like a fucking second to an hour! But…" He broke off and shook his head. Still, Sasuke said nothing. Naruto's hands began to shake.

"_I _was the one who broke it off!" he exclaimed in a weak parody of a shout. "_I _told _him_ we were done! Why the hell am I feeling depressed? What the fuck!" His head fell even farther, now resting in the crooks of both elbows, while his hands hung like dead weights just above his wild hair.

"I've moved on," he mumbled. "I'm not in love with him anymore, but why – why the hell am I—"

"Shut up," Sasuke suddenly ordered. "Just shut up, you idiot." Naruto's head snapped up and wide slightly red-rimmed eyes gaped at him stupidly.

"What?" Sasuke rolled his eyes and crushed the urge to slap the complete idiot who was staring so perplexedly at him.

"I can't believe it," the Uchiha said. "You really don't get it." Naruto blinked and gave an expectant look; "do tell" it said. Sasuke shook his head and gave Naruto a small grin.

"You invested five years of your life in Hyuuga Neji," he said simply. "You loved him for five years as much as you love me right now – maybe even more – and you can't get rid of that in six months. If you could—" He broke off to shrug. "What the hell are we doing here?"

Naruto blinked again.

"So, you're saying—"

"Stop trying to sink yourself into denial, you ass. You're never going to completely eradicate Hyuuga from your life because you fucking can't. You care about him too much. Stop trying to fight it, you and I both know that you don't want to sleep with him anymore." Naruto could only stare in amazement at Sasuke. Sasuke could only hold his gaze steady. Slowly, a fragment of a smile began to show on Naruto's face. The sight of it turned the corner of Sasuke's lips upwards too.

"What the fuck," he said incredulously. "How the hell do you do that?" Sasuke had nothing to say to that, so he just smirked and leaned in to claim the kiss that Naruto hadn't given him before he left that morning.

"Marry me." Sasuke stopped dead.

"What?" He tried to keep himself composed, but his voice still came out as a croak. He pulled back and stared at Naruto and his stupid grin and that damned box in his hand. When the hell did he get that out?

Not for the first time in their relationship, Sasuke began to wonder if it all was some elaborate scheme; Naruto's angsting to get him off guard before the bozo went in for the kill.

Either way, all Sasuke could do was stare at the box Naruto held out to him with cautious black eyes as Naruto smiled.

"I said, marry me," the blonde repeated. Sasuke felt a shiver spread throughout his body at the words. Marry him? Naruto? He opened his mouth to respond and nothing came out. Naruto became suddenly flustered and pulled the ring back self-consciously.

"I didn't mean to do something for you that guys normally do for chicks," he apologized sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But, I figured that—" He didn't get to finish his sentence as he suddenly had an armful of Sasuke, whose lips seemed to be trying to shut him up as quickly as possible. He pulled back in his surprise and managed a "what—"

"Shut the fuck _up_, Naruto," Sasuke growled against his lips. "_Yes_." Naruto grinned and pulled his lover close, a relentless happiness spreading through every single inch of his body as the reality of a continued life with the man he loved solidified in his mind and world.

* * *

**Yayz, chptr 2! Sorry for the length, this chptr was just supposed to show a little bit of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship and a bit of the twins' insecurities. Sorry if Sasuke was OOC. I tried but not that hard, I will admit. I couldnt' bear to make the chptr any longer because I really don't like writing SasuNaruSasu. I will say right now that I am not writing this fic for those two; I am writing it for Kiba and Neji. **

**Another important thing about this fic is that Naruto is not supposed to be the bad guy here. In the article I read, the guy who left his family was virtually beating himself up about it and I wanted to emulate that through Naruto. Besides, Naruto is the type of guy who wouldn't just stop caring for someone after he broke up with them. Especially not if they've had a happy and successful relationship together for five years. With effing kids. **

**Sorry if this chptr was terrible! It's not my favorite and is only, once again, supposed to give readers an insight into different characters' feelings, so I hope I did okay with that at least! I might edit it later... Kiba will be introduced soon and thus shall begin the true fun! :3 Look out, Neji! **

**I no own Naruto or the characters. And in the actual Naruto, Naruto would never do that to his significant other, he's too loyal. Just sayin'. Review! Or don't! Thank you for reading, either way! :D  
**


	3. Orange Colored Sky

It was raining on Wednesday when Neji decided that he would take a break from the tedious packing task he faced and go get a cup of coffee or something like that. He pulled on his coat, searched out his umbrella, and placed his wallet securely in his pocket. He took a look around the apartment and despaired at the many empty boxes that were waiting for their share of anything that would be moved to the new home.

"Ugh," Neji grouched to himself before he turned and left the apartment.

It wasn't pouring outside but it was coming down hard enough to motivate Neji to use his umbrella. He liked his coat and he didn't want the rain to ruin it.

His and Naruto's favorite café was very famous locally, run by a very kind man and his daughter. It was called Ichiraku's.

"Afternoon, Neji!" Ayame chirped as he walked in. "Table for one?" Neji smiled cordially and nodded.

"Yes, thanks," he replied. She beamed and pointed to a corner booth by the window. It had been Neji's favorite since Naruto had left him. He quickly thanked her and settled himself at his booth, ignoring her pitying look. Once he was out of earshot, the girl turned to her father and whispered to him, "Oh, poor Neji! You know what happened, don't you, father? I know you were gone for a few weeks at that cooking convention." Her father rolled his eyes affectionately and prepared himself for his daughter's usual gossip.

"What is it, Ayame?" She bit the tip of her finger and signaled him to lean towards her. He did and she whispered into his ear, "He and Naruto are through. Naruto left him for Uchiha Sasuke, and now Neji's left to raise those two adorable boys all by himself! Isn't that terrible? And I thought Naruto was such a nice man." She tsked and sighed as she returned to her work. Her father watched her go and wondered to himself how much of what she said was true.

Neji was looking out the window clutching his warm mug when Teuchi came over with his bill.

"Hey, Neji," he said cheerily, placing the bill down. "You sure you've had everything you'd like? We have a new special today, limited time only." Neji chuckled and shook his head.

"Thank you, Teuchi, but I'm fine with just this today," he said. He took a sip from his coffee and Teuchi smiled and left it alone. Neji handed him a sleek credit card and Teuchi was about to head to the register. But he was just too curious for his own good.

"Neji, I'm sorry about this, but my daughter was gossiping today and – well you know Ayame," he paused to let out a gruff laugh. Neji smiled.

"Yes, I do know her," he said. Teuchi nodded and continued.

"Well, she was saying something to me today, and I was a little dubious," he said. "I mean, I know that some of the things she says are farfetched, but she really wouldn't invent something this, uhb, out there. So, I'd just like to ask you about it; straight from the horse's mouth, you know?" Neji chuckled and sipped at his coffee.

"I understand, Teuchi, what did you want to ask?" Teuchi scratched at the back of his neck as he hesitated and looked around the café nervously. Neji waited patiently and Teuchi eventually bent forward and cupped his hand by his mouth as though divulging a great secret. Neji found it a little amusing that he would be so serious and solemn about a little gossip.

"Is it true that you and Naruto aren't – you know – together, anymore?"

…Huh. Well, that had been unexpected. Neji sat for a moment, ruminating possible responses and trying to look as calm about it as possible. After a minute of contemplation, he settled on a simple, "Yes, Naruto and I have ended our relationship, you heard right." Teuchi's eyes turned suddenly compassionate and he clapped what was supposed to be a comforting hand on Neji's shoulder.

"Gosh, Neji, I'm really sorry," he said sincerely. "I thought you two were doing really well. To think, he would leave you for a guy like that Uchiha Sasuke." He straightened, shaking his head despairingly. Neji only looked at him and he suddenly realized what he'd said. Turning a bright red, he turned to Neji abruptly, trying to force out an apology or an explanation; something that would excuse his Freudian slip. Neji waved the mistake away.

"It's alright," he breathed heavily. "It's only the facts." If it was possible, Teuchi turned even redder and shot an extremely compunctious look Neji's way before he hurried off to the register, perhaps regretting asking Neji about the whole thing in the first place. Neji watched him go with an understanding look. It was a little hard to believe, wasn't it?

Neji turned his attention back to the window and released a long breath.

And then sucked it back in again. His eyes widened as he saw what had to be one of the biggest dogs he'd ever seen sitting in the rain just outside the café. That dog was barking loudly in its sitting position and Neji strained his neck to see what was commanding its attention. And saw a young man arguing loudly with Teuchi about something or another. He would frequently gesture wildly towards the dog and Neji came to the conclusion that he was arguing about whether or not the dog should be allowed in the restaurant.

Well, Neji thought, that would be out of the question. The size of the dog alone made it impossible for him to sit in the restaurant without bothering at least someone. The fact that the dog also happened to be soaked clean through with rainwater didn't help the young man's case either.

Eventually, the man gave up and threw his hands in the air in an exaggerated hopeless gesture, walking angrily away from the entrance and plopping down on the bench beside his dog. He was just as soaked as the creature and Neji shook his head, staring unabashedly at the sight before him; it was, unfortunately for the man and the dog, very amusing. Neji felt a little bad for being so blatant about his staring.

The man ran a wet hand through his hair and caught sight of Neji. The Hyuuga felt his face go a little red as he realized he'd been caught and he was about to turn away when the man outside grinned and shrugged in an over the top what-are-you-gonna-do gesture. Neji gave him a small smile and the man laughed and gave Neji an odd look. Neji felt increasingly awkward as he came to realize that he didn't know quite how to respond to this man and turned away from the window, letting his hair fall forward to shield his face. He spent a moment of indecision before he drained his coffee, stood from his seat and power-walked to the front of the café, where Teuchi had been preparing to give his credit card back to him.

"Oh, Neji!" he exclaimed. "Here's your receipt and your credit card. Come again, you hear?" Neji gave him a slightly hurried smile and accepted the card and the receipt, shoving both hastily into his wallet. Teuchi stopped him before he left and said in a low voice, "And I'm sorry about you and Naruto, Neji. I'm sure you're gonna find someone perfect for you soon, though, don't you worry." He was so sincere in his well-wishing. Neji held out his hand and shook Teuchi's firmly.

"Thank you, Teuchi," he said. "I appreciate it." Teuchi smiled at him and he turned and left the café.

Once outside, Neji turned immediately towards the bench. He felt unusually relieved to see that the man was still there, hands on his knees, watching the road glumly, his dog sitting glumly on the sidewalk beside him.

Taking a deep breath, Neji strode swiftly over to the man and peered around the dog to catch a glimpse of him.

"Excuse me?" Neji risked with a clear voice. The man turned to look at him and his face scrunched up into a childish disbelieving expression. Neji waited.

"Oh, you're the guy from the café," the man said. His voice was strong and youthful and the sound of it flowed into Neji's ears very easily. Neji took a step closer to him so that his umbrella covered the both of them.

"I suppose so," Neji responded, holding out the umbrella slightly. "Do you need any help?" Immediately, Neji wished he could retract the words as he watched a slow toothy grin spread across the young man's face.

"Why, do I look like I need help?" he snarked. "Cuz I feel," he paused to let out a barking laugh, "_fine_." Neji glared at him and pulled the umbrella back.

"Well, if you're sure, then I suppose I'm just wasting my time, aren't I?" He had no idea why he said it, as he turned around sharply and walked away. He had no idea why he felt a rush of satisfaction when he heard the man call out to him and pull him back to the bench.

"Hold up," the man said, looking very interested in the whole encounter. "If that was you offering help, then I guess I could take you up on it." He stuck out a very wet hand and grinned a grin that was beginning to define him in Neji's eyes. "I'm Kiba."

Neji shook Kiba's hand after a moment's hesitation and attributed the shiver that shot through him to the cold wetness of that hand.

"Neji," he returned. Kiba nodded with a smile and suddenly dropped Neji's hand. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped and his hand was frozen before him. Neji's brow furrowed and he took a wary step back, as suddenly unnerved by Kiba's response as Kiba was surprised by his introduction. Kiba advanced on him slowly, squinting his eyes as he gave him a very thorough looking over.

"Neji?" he repeated. "As in Hyuuga Neji? As in Hyuuga Hinata's older cousin?" Neji blinked, perplexed at this man's knowledge of his cousin and a little on edge at the familiarity with which Kiba spoke of her.

"Yes," he said warily. "I am that Hyuuga Neji… Do you know my cousin?" Kiba yelled, "Aw, geez!" and threw both of his hands onto his head as he apparently came to a life-changing realization.

"Hell yeah, I know her!" he enthused. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba, I used to go out with her!" Neji came suddenly to a life-changing realization and looked at Kiba with wider eyes than normal.

"So _you're _Inuzuka Kiba?" he clarified. When Kiba nodded, Neji's eyes swept over him with the sharp scrutiny of a protective older brother. "My uncle was rather relieved when you two ended your relationship, you know. You were quite the scandalous mutt." Kiba seemed to deflate and he looked at Neji with the miserable face of kicked puppy.

"She told me he liked me," he said before he could stop himself. Neji, taken aback by his honest response, couldn't suppress the laugh that bubbled in his throat. Kiba gave him another odd look and his hand flew to his mouth to prevent more laughs from following.

"I'm sorry," Neji apologized through a smile. "I never knew anything about my cousin's romance and to hear that you—" He broke off to bite his lip and shake his head, clearly fighting off more laughter. Neji was surprised at himself. A smile was slowly fighting its way back to Kiba's face.

"Much as I'm enjoying this, I'm getting wet," he pointed out bluntly. "Do you think we could continue this somewhere else, preferably with a roof?" Neji opened his mouth to ask where Kiba had in mind but hesitated.

This encounter was actually moving rather fast and Neji wasn't quite certain he liked the direction it was headed. He had just had a conversation with a perfect stranger for five minutes without a single thought of Naruto. For him, that was kind of a big deal.

Why was he reading so much into this?

Two fingers snapped loudly in front of his face and Neji broke his musings to see Kiba looking at him with a little concern.

"You okay?" he asked, his voice unsure. "You started spacing out there for a second." Recovering his composure, Neji quickly brushed the concern aside.

"I'm alright. I'm just – I'm fine." Kiba looked a little disbelieving, but he shrugged it off and moved under the umbrella again, giving Neji a sheepish grin.

"Do you mind? My apartment's just down the street a little." Neji shook his head.

"It's alright," he replied. "Shall we?" Kiba grinned and nodded. As they started walking, he turned to the dog, whistled, and commanded, "Come on, Akamaru!" The dog yipped and padded easily along after his master, tongue occasionally flitting out of his mouth to catch falling rain drops. Neji watched the dog in silent awe for a moment out of the corner of his eye. He was a little curious – maybe a lot curious – about how that dog had gotten to be so big. He figured Kiba would know, but… should he ask?

"Excuse, me, Mr. Inuzuka?" Neji started, inwardly wincing at the awkward formality of the title he had given Kiba. Kiba winced and interrupted him immediately.

"Kiba."

"What?"

"My name is Kiba. Call me Kiba."

"…Alright. Kiba, if you don't mind, would you tell me how your dog got so… well, so _big_?" Kiba's laugh sounded almost like a bark itself, and he threw his whole body into it. Neji had to lean away from him a bit to escape the droplets of water that were shaken loose from Kiba's hair.

"I don't know!" Kiba responded happily. "He used to be really small and I always took him with me wherever I went. I guess I spent so much time with him that he grew up right under my nose without me noticing." His smile was one of the largest Neji had ever seen and it stretched all the way across his face. It was quite infectious as well and Neji found he had to exert quite a bit of effort to keep himself from offering at least a small smile in return.

"So how about you?" Kiba suddenly asked. "Any pets?" Neji turned forward and shook his head.

"No pets," he denied. "My father was always allergic to dogs and my cousin is allergic to cats." Kiba nodded sadly.

"That's too bad," he lamented for Neji. "But, you're living on your own now, right? So you can have pets in your home? Do you live in an apartment or a house?" Neji looked at him.

"An apartment," he answered slowly. Kiba snapped his fingers.

"Damn. I pegged you as a house kinda guy," he chuckled. Neji was about to tell him that he planned on moving to a house but was cut off by the man's next question.

"Does your apartment allow pets?" he inquired seriously. Neji blinked.

"Yes."

"Then why don't you get one? Pets are great! Especially dogs. You should come by my mom's place, she has some great dogs you could get." Neji blinked again. This man sure was chatty. Either he liked the sound of his own voice or he just had a lot to say. Neji felt as though the latter was closer to the truth than the former.

"Well, I," his voice came out with a little more confusion layering it than he would have liked. "I've never given it much thought I suppose." Kiba rolled his eyes and laughed.

"That's what they all say!" he exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands out before him. He turned a cheeky grin on Neji and nudged him in the side. "You never know until you try! You seem like a guy who could do with a friend." Neji knew he really meant a pet, but he couldn't help but take the comment personally. After all, Naruto had said so many similar things to him when he was trying to get Neji to go out with him. And it still hit close to home.

So Neji carefully kept his mouth tightly shut and let Kiba ramble on about the benefit of pets, especially dogs. He was giving Neji the hard sell.

And Neji was loathe to admit it, but he was slowly being convinced by Kiba's almost ludicrous speech. Would Soichiro and Keitaro like to have a dog? He never gave a thought to the possibility that maybe they wanted something like that. But then again, they had never said anything. And it was hard to read those boys sometimes.

In the end he just shook his head and resolved to ask them about it later. But in the meantime…

"Kiba," he called firmly. The guy stopped talking immediately.

"Yeah?"

"What do you do for a living?" Kiba just shrugged.

"I work at the shop with my mom and sister," he answered. "It's actually surprisingly profitable. I get paid for spending the day with dogs." He paused to grin about something Neji didn't quite know. "So, what about you? You work for that big-wig Hyuuga Corporation, don't you? That's what Hinata said anyway." Neji nodded.

"Yes, I work for that corporation. My uncle babies me a bit, though. Sometimes he insists I do my work outside of the office." Kiba was regarding him seriously.

"Hinata told me that, too," he said. "She was always worried about you. She said you worked too hard all the time." Neji was taken aback by the unusual turn of Kiba's attitude; now he was all of a sudden being solemn and laid back when not a minute ago he was energetic and all over the place. Were these sorts of mood swings normal for this guy?

"I suppose." Kiba shook his head and his smile returned, this time a watered down version of what it had been. He looked right at Neji, his narrow black eyes locking with Neji's dull white ones. Neji swallowed as a feeling of familiar self-consciousness pervaded his being. It was as though Kiba could see right through him, and for the first time since meeting the young man, Neji felt as though there was a reason to Kiba's madness.

"All work and no play makes Neji a dull boy," he joked, but Neji immediately felt the impact of the truth behind the words. He smiled back before he could stop himself.

"I learned that five years ago," he promised. Kiba shook his head.

"Doesn't seem like it to me," he observed. More like quipped. Neji was rendered speechless and he could only gawk at Kiba. Well, he could only gawk as much as his Hyuuga upbringing would allow.

"But, I might be wrong, you might have learned it five years ago or whenever you said," Kiba continued. Abruptly, he came to a halt and turned directly to face Neji. He grinned and folded his arms.

"Either way, I'd like to see you again, if you don't mind," he said. Neji was overwhelmed by this man's confidence. "Should I give you my number or do you want to give me yours?" Without a word, and with wide eyes, Neji pulled his receipt from Ichiraku's out of his wallet and took the pen that Kiba provided for him; he seemed to have pulled it out of nowhere. Almost mindlessly, Neji wrote down his cell number and handed the receipt to Kiba, who took it with his grin still intact.

"Great!" he crowed. "I'll call you later! When would be a good time for you? Cuz, obviously, I know you have work and I wouldn't want to bother you." Was it just him, or had Kiba said that with just a touch of sarcasm? The raised eyebrow didn't convince Neji of any innocence to Kiba's words, but he did believe Kiba's sincere desire to talk to him again.

"Any time over the weekend," Neji found himself saying. Kiba nodded and gave Neji a quick wave goodbye before bounding up a set of stone steps and pushing his way into an apartment complex, his dog at his heels. Neji was left outside in the rain with his umbrella wondering what the hell had just happened.

After a few minutes of pondering, Neji recovered his wits and clapped a hand over his mouth.

"What the hell…?"

* * *

**Yayz! It be Kiba! I hope this was okay, I have been agonizing over this chapter for so long and if ANYONE thinks that I should rework it, please tell me, and I will get right on it! **

**For this chptr, I was trying to get Kiba's personality across as best I could and I was also trying to make it disconcerting in a way that would be different from Naruto. I don't want this to be just a repeat of Neji's romance with Naruto with a different guy. That would be boring and there wouldn't be any room for a relationship to develop! The romance is going to develop slowly between these two, I promise, Neji was just taken a little off guard by the amazing Kiba! And besides that, I just couldn't keep the guy out of the fic any longer. He insisted on stealing this chptr away from Sasuke and Naruto and all those guys. I didn't really put up much of a fight, so, meh. **

**And yes, I know Neji is not very in character as he's laughing with Kiba, but like I said, he was taken off guard. His emotional defense mechanism (closing himself off from any and all human beings who may actually give a shit about him) will kick in soon enough.  
**

**So, I hope you like, and if there is ANYTHING that you guys think should change, tell me please! Just don't be a jerk about it. Thanks!**

**For those of you who get the song reference in the chptr title, kudos. I should stop writing these obnoxiously long author's notes.  
**


	4. Regression

When Neji arrived home, there was a message on his phone. Almost mindlessly, he pressed the replay button, his mind still on the encounter he'd had with that strange young man earlier that day. When Naruto's voice sounded in his ears, he quickly snapped to attention and shut the machine off. He really couldn't deal with Naruto right then.

Still in something of a trance, Neji walked over to his couch and sank heavily into its cushions. He took a moment to relax completely and let his mind wander. It traveled all over the place, asking all sorts of questions, bringing up all sorts of memories, and proposing all sorts of solutions. Which was odd because he didn't think he had a problem.

Neji groaned and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He was now safe in his apartment once again, ready to continue his task, and he could barely concentrate. He sighed. Maybe a quick nap wouldn't hurt.

* * *

Neji woke to a loud knock on the door and a shout of his name. He jumped and sat up quickly, whipping his head this way and that, momentarily confused as to his whereabouts in his post-sleep haze. The knock sounded again.

"Neji!" Naruto? "Neji, I know you're in there, what the hell's going on!" There was a pause. "If you don't answer, I'm gonna break the door down!" Neji blinked, thoroughly confused, when Naruto continued. "Alright, fine, here I go!" There was suddenly a loud bang on the door and Neji felt more than heard it rattle on its hinges. He cursed. _Oh my god, he's actually going to break the door down!_

Without another thought, Neji sprang up from the couch and sprinted to the door. He quickly jerked the lock and wrenched the thing open. Just as Naruto attempted to barrel into it again. Neji had only one second to stare in shock as Naruto rammed into him. With two grunts, they both crashed to the floor. From the now open door, the twins stood innocently side by side, watching the whole incident. They looked to be thoroughly amused, but were secretly covering up the small concern and worry they'd felt when Neji hadn't immediately answered the door or his phone when Naruto called.

Now that they knew Neji was alright, they felt no compunction in taking some delight from the sight before them. Neji shoved Naruto off of him as quickly as he could, trying to hide his embarrassment with his indignation. If they believed him to be angry, then maybe the flush on his face would be attributed to anger and not… yeah.

Neji was about to verbally rip into Naruto when a previously hidden figure suddenly came into view. Sasuke.

_Shit_.

Neji flushed a deeper red and buried his head in his hands. Fantastic. So even Sasuke had been there to see this. And he looked just as amused as the twins.

"_What _the _hell _were you _thinking_, trying to break down my _door_ like that, you _idiot_!" Neji growled. Perhaps the worst part was that Naruto didn't even seem fazed by the accident. He was just sitting cross-legged on the floor looking at Neji with ill-disguised concern. In fact, Neji didn't think he was even trying to disguise it. At Neji's pointed demand, Naruto's expression became a little indignant.

"Hey, _I'm_ not the one who didn't answer my call or open my door when I came to drop off our kids!" he accused. Neji only looked at him. Sasuke shook his head. The twins snickered. Naruto, seemingly oblivious, went on angrily.

"How come you didn't even answer your phone?" he asked seriously, brows furrowed, eyes flashing. "I left you a message and then called your cell, left a message there, called here again, and then your cell again, and you _still_ didn't answer! And then I come to the apartment, cuz that's where your cell says you were, and you don't even answer the fucking door! I swear, Neji, I thought you were getting robbed or something, you gave me a friggin' heart attack!" Neji glared pointedly at him, realized he was still sitting, pulled himself hastily to his feet, and continued glaring.

"Well, that makes perfect sense," he snarled. "The _one _time I'm not where _you_ expect me to be, all of a sudden I'm getting mugged or robbed." He was secretly flattered that Naruto had been so worried about him.

The blonde man jumped to his feet and Neji took a step back, always wondering at this man's boundless energy. Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Neji.

"You didn't answer your fucking _phone_, Neji!" he snarled back. "You always answer your precious cellphone! You sleep with it on, you eat with it on, hell you probably even got it a water-proof covering so you could take it into the shower with you!" His eyes were earnest and sparkling and Neji had a hard time looking at them for longer than a second.

"Shut up, Naruto." Sasuke suddenly stepped in. "You saw, he's fine. Stop embarrassing yourself." Naruto's sparkling eyes flashed to Sasuke and he began to yell and flail his arms and the twins and Neji watched in bemusement.

Until Neji decided to nip the argument in the bud.

"Is there any particular reason you're here?" he asked in a clipped voice. Naruto immediately fell silent and turned to stare at Neji, as though the answer should be obvious.

"I asked if you wanted to eat out with us, Neji, and you said yeah," he replied in a slow voice. Neji gritted his teeth to hide his minute embarrassment. He'd completely forgotten. "Remember? This morning? You said you would be free around five-ish? Well, it's five." As if that made it any better. Quickly turning away from the crowd gathered outside his apartment, Neji hastily mumbled an invitation to wait a minute and hurried to get his phone and wallet. His keys were still pocketed in the coat he hadn't taken off since that afternoon and he took a moment to glance at the clock to see if Naruto really was correct about the time. Three minutes after five. The bastard was right.

Grumbling to himself, Neji stalked back towards the door, taking a moment to vent silently to himself before putting up his calm veneer.

"I apologize for making you wait," he said, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I – I forgot." It took all he had just to voice the admission but he was no longer a child and sometimes the obvious just needed to be said so that one didn't look like a complete idiot. Naruto just shook his head and folded his arms.

"Well, whatever, you weren't mugged so I guess that means we can head to the restaurant now," he exclaimed, smile growing on his face. "Let us forge ahead! C'mon, boys!" He looped his arms around Soichiro's and Keitaro's shoulders and pulled them forward. The twins grinned and kept up admirably, leaving Sasuke and Neji to follow at a much less enthusiastic pace. Neji sighed and turned to close and lock his apartment door. Sasuke waited, which Neji wished he wouldn't do.

The two walked in silence down the hall, having lost sight of Naruto and the twins, and having nothing to say to each other.

Once they reached the parking lot, they immediately spotted Naruto's old pickup truck and felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "While we're young, please!" Sasuke and Neji responded with two annoyed looks.

They reached the truck and Naruto made a show of being asleep, snoring loudly, before pretending to be started awake by Neji and Sasuke.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I fall asleep on you guys?" he asked with a grin, a teasing note in his voice. Neji noticed that he seemed to be making an effort to keep from looking solely at Sasuke. He managed to ignore it and sneered in response to Naruto's comment.

"Just start the car, already, Naruto," he grouched. Naruto snickered.

"Way ahead o'ya," he said happily, revving the loud and fairly old engine to life. He waited for a moment and listened to the gravelly sound before nodding with satisfaction and patting the dashboard affectionately. "Good girl." Turning to the two errant passengers, he said sheepishly, "Sorry, someone's going to have to take the backseat." Neji immediately reached for the door to the backseat and slid into the car beside the twins. Sasuke looked at him for a moment before moving towards the front seat and getting in beside Naruto. Neji avoided their eyes as best he could without being obvious. He was so not in a good mood.

* * *

After a ride that erred slightly on the long side – filled with rock music that Neji found far too loud despite the fact that it had never bothered him before – the five of them found themselves at their destination: a very nice family restaurant they had frequented multiple times before.

There was one other family waiting to be seated and they looked at the three men and two boys who had just entered with some perplexity. Neji just held back a sigh and remained silent as Naruto prattled on to Sasuke and the twins, the former of whom would occasionally drop in a word or two, the latter of whom would respond frequently and enthusiastically.

They were seated quickly and soon were left to their own devices as they waited for the server.

"So, Neji, why _didn't_ you answer your phone?" Naruto piped up suddenly. He sounded very curious.

"I was napping," Neji said after a moment's hesitation. Naruto blinked at him, surprised.

"Napping?" he asked. "I thought you had shi—I mean stuff to do?" Neji nodded.

"I did," he affirmed. "I was just tired."

"What made you tired?" Of course Naruto had to go there; he had to ask the questions Neji just didn't want him to ask. It was who he was.

"I was just out a little too long, I suppose." Yes, the answer was evasive and pathetic, but it was the best Neji could come up with at the moment. Yes, he was bullshitting them, and they all knew it. The look on Naruto's face said that he would be very annoyed very soon if Neji didn't give him a straight answer soon; the twins exchanged looks of dubious skepticism; Sasuke just looked slightly amused.

Thankfully, the server chose that moment to make himself known, and the group soon forgot the tension of the earlier pseudo-interrogation in favor of something lighter and more comfortable. Neji eventually managed to push aside his grumpiness and enjoy himself despite the fact that Sasuke was there with Naruto.

The enjoyment stopped cold, however, when Neji saw, as Sasuke reached for his drink, an unmistakable flash of gold around Sasuke's finger. He stared for a moment, unaware of the fact that Sasuke had caught him.

"So, Neji, when's your next vacation?" Naruto suddenly asked. Neji quickly turned to face him and schooled his features to calmness.

"Not for a while," he said. "I am taking a few days off to celebrate Hanabi's birthday, though, at the request of Hinata." Naruto nodded.

"Are we all invited?" he asked with a smile. Neji gave him a condescending look.

"I think she would enjoy that," he replied tonelessly. "I'll be sure to have Hinata send you the dates." Naruto rolled his eyes and glared exasperatedly at Neji.

"Or you could send me the dates."

"Or I could send you the dates." Naruto nodded decisively with a grin.

"Alrighty then," he declared. "We'll put it on the calendar." Neji chose not to respond and continued eating his food, his mood soured by the sight of Sasuke's ring.

They left the restaurant soon after and drove back to Neji's apartment engaged in lukewarm conversation.

* * *

When Naruto pulled up to the door, he turned to Neji and asked, "Do you want me to walk you up?" Neji shook his head and responded with a muttered, "It's fine" before getting smoothly and swiftly out of the car. Not one to be deterred, Naruto leaned over Sasuke and opened the passenger window.

"Okay, so you're taking the twins back tomorrow, right?" he clarified. Neji nodded, already on his way back to his apartment.

"Yes, don't worry," he answered. Naruto could barely hear him. He watched in silence with an unreadable look on his face as Neji walked back into the apartment building and up the stairs.

As soon as Neji reached his apartment, he took off his coat, threw it onto the couch and flopped down on top of it. He reached up to his hair and gripped it tightly as though he wanted to pull it out. He growled into the sofa cushions, and he gave them a hard kick for good measure.

_What is wrong with me?_ He had acted like a complete asshole throughout the whole dinner. And then afterward…

Neji forced his head further into the cushions, embarrassment making him angry. Why was this so _difficult?_ Why was it so difficult to at least pretend to be having fun? At least for that one night. Why couldn't he manage _that?_

Neji twisted roughly onto his side, as though trying to escape the answer. He knew it, too. He knew exactly why it was so difficult. And it made him feel like more of an ass.

All throughout that dinner, Neji had been telling himself to stop making his desire to be somewhere _not there_ so obvious to everyone. To pull the annoyed and slightly amused look back onto his face for just a few more minutes, so that they wouldn't know how much he didn't want to be there. And Neji knew he should have listened to himself in that regard, but he hadn't. He'd pushed onward, making comments that barely hid the pronounced bite in his tone and words. That had all been for one reason.

And when he'd climbed out of the car, he hadn't looked back once. Because he wanted Naruto to know.

Neji wanted Naruto to know just how much he'd hurt him. That'd been the driving force behind most of Neji's actions that night. Some part of Neji – a large part, actually – wanted Naruto to feel guilt and regret over what he'd done to Neji. Neji, in a way, was throwing that in Naruto's face, in the best way he knew how: with poignant silences, obvious cold shoulders, and clipped words.

Because if Naruto was guilty, Neji would know he still cared. Maybe he wasn't in love with Neji, but at least he cared.

_But it's still so vindictive…_ Neji thought ruefully to himself. _When have I ever been like this before?_

"Good god, Naruto…" Neji muttered to himself into the cushions. _Why did you have to leave?_ He was so pathetic, he couldn't even say those words to himself out loud. And he'd been living with them constantly bouncing around in his head for six months. And everything he ever put pride or effort into was suffering because of those damned words. Because he couldn't get past them. _Everything_ was taking a nosedive.

Keitaro and Soichiro flashed through his mind and he winced, unable to push back the relief at their absence, and feeling like complete scum because of that relief. Why was he moving again? Not the bullshit answer he'd given Naruto the other day. To give himself something to do? To take his mind off of everything? That was the only remotely true answer he could think of.

And since when was it so easy to lie to Naruto? Or the boys?

Was it selfish? Yes. Yes, it was.

Slowly, Neji pushed himself up onto all fours, as though in a trance, and turned to the answering machine. He reached out and pressed the replay button.

Naruto's voice flooded through the room, casual with just a hint of his usual excitement. Neji leant back onto his knees and stared down at the sofa cushions, just listening to Naruto's voice. The message ended. Another started. Naruto's voice sounded less casual in this one and a bit more nervous. Neji listened to that as well. The message ended.

_"To replay these messages, press—"_ Neji pressed the replay button. Naruto's calm voice began to speak again. Slowly, as the words continued, Neji felt his eyes begin to sting. He knew what that meant. It hadn't happened in a long time, though. And he didn't want it to happen right then. He pushed the tears back. Naruto's voice continued to speak to him. The tears threatened again. Again, he pushed them away. Naruto's voice stopped. Neji pressed replay. It started again.

Neji fell asleep on the couch that night, and couldn't remember if he'd cried himself to sleep or not.

* * *

**IMPORTANT! Okay, so, first of all, I LIIIIIIVE! I can still write, HA! Okay, now that I got that out, I apologize for the irregular updates. I have all these idea, but I just can't seem to get them from my mind to the paper... I'll try harder, I promise! **

**Neji's pretty screwed up so far... He's definitely not just a victim here. I hope that comes through loud and clear, but he's still got a lot to deal with. So does Naruto! Honestly, one of the biggest parts of this story is going to be the effects of the breakup on Naruto and Neji and the closure that needs to happen but, so far, hasn't. So, Naruto is as big a character as Neji here. Kiba's going to become more important, but that's going to be a bit slow-going cuz I love slowly and carefully developed plots! **

**I hope you readers like this chptr! I'm going to work very hard to keep things more regular from now on! Thank you! **

**Disclaimer, you know the drill, this not mine.  
**


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